Ahh, Santa Barbara. Famous for its beautiful beaches, Spanish Colonial architecture, thriving arts scene and gorgeous wineries, Santa Barbara is the perfect Mediterranean getaway on the West Coast. My three days were packed with a mix of relaxation focused activities, food, history and culture.
Day 1- Enjoy a Relaxing Day at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
The first thing I did after checking into the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort was head to the beachfront luxury spa onsite, Float. I booked a massage with Amy, which I cannot recommend enough. She was incredible and the ambience was perfect – I want to start every trip exactly like this.
The next morning, I woke up in my beautiful room with a view of the beach and then enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. I chose to be extra and I got the Bananas Foster Pain Perdu (French Toast), with a side of crispy bacon and a diet coke. The bananas foster rum sauce, the vanilla crème anglaise, the lightly crispy bread – sensational.
I needed somewhere to sit down and work after my ridiculous breakfast, so I headed over to the pool and enjoyed the Hilton’s well stocked Cabana. I snacked on the provided fruit and hydrated while lounging (read: working) in the shade by the newly renovated pool. After getting a good amount of work done, I went to the front desk to plan the rest of my week. Concierge Drew was an absolute gem, and he helped me figure out where to go and when. For dinner, I went to the Hilton’s onsite restaurant, The Set, and enjoyed a great burger, fries and chocolate martinis while watching the ocean.
Day 2- Check In at The Harbor View Inn, Lotusland Dazzles and an Introduction to Santa Barbara Wines
After my first relaxing day at the Hilton to get oriented, I was ready to venture out into Santa Barbara a little more. I checked into the Harbor View Inn down the street into a beach view room. The Harbor View Inn is located just steps from the Pier and right on the beach so there is easy walking access to food, shopping and all beachfront activities.
After check in, I went to breakfast at Goodland Waffles & Melts downtown. There, I had the waffle of my dreams, The Goodland Classic, with strawberries and whipped cream. It was so simple, but so perfect. (I went back to get this delight so many times during my trip that I was recognized as a regular.)
Downtown Santa Barbara is a very cute, very walkable area. I spent my morning post waffle wandering around and seeing the boulevard. It’s a mix of the designer chain stores you expect, and unique local shops.
In the afternoon, I visited Lotusland, a 37-acre botanical garden in Montecito, checked out an amazing tasting room for some local wine and then did a little “choose your own adventure” for dinner. If you’ve never heard of Lotusland, put it on your list now. It’s often recognized as one of the top ten botanical gardens in the world, and it’s a perfect oasis that makes you feel like you’re in Jurassic Park, Japan, and a whimsical fairyland all in one visit.
When I finished at the gardens, I headed back into Santa Barbara for a wine tasting at Frequency Wines. Bailey, one of the tasting room staff, took me through the wine selection with passion, knowledge and a large dose of friendliness. The Rosé and Chardonnay were excellent, and while I usually love a Rosé, the Chardonnay was a surprise. Really crisp and lovely – both wines are excellent for pairings for food, and I ended up taking home bottles of each. I loved the wine, and Bailey’s vibe, so I asked her where to go for dinner. She had two main suggestions for what the locals love: La Super Rica and Third Window Burger. I ended up at La Super Rica, which is a famous taco stand, apparently once beloved of Julia Child, for some affordable Mexican food.
I ended my evening with a beautiful walk out to the end of the Santa Barbara Pier for a glass of Rosé at Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Tasting Room. The Rosé was fine, but the view was spectacular and well worth the walk.
Day 3- A Free Santa Barbara Courthouse Tour and Math + Science at the Art Museum
Fun Fact: Santa Barbara may be known for luxury and fine food, but I learned that it’s also the birthplace of the Egg McMuffin. Inspired by his love of Eggs Benedict, franchisee Herb Peterson came up with the idea of a handheld version and pitched it to McDonald’s executives, who took the idea and ran with it. I did not eat an Egg McMuffin on this trip, but it was fun to learn about.
Instead of a McMuffin, on Friday morning I went to the Helena Avenue Bakery for a much more lavish Breakfast Sandwich on Brioche. I also enjoyed their eminently instagrammable Wildflower Honey Ricotta on Sourdough Toast with Fresh Strawberries outside on their adorable patio. I definitely recommend the experience. Cute & delicious!
At 10:30 a.m., Monday to Friday, the Santa Barbara Courthouse offers a free tour of their historic courthouse. The tour starts in the absolutely breathtaking Mural Room, where gorgeous art depicting different parts of Santa Barbara’s cultural roots completely covers each of the room’s four walls and ceiling. The artist, Dan Sayre Groesbeck, started as a war correspondent and later became a Hollywood set designer.
The courthouse is actually a working courthouse, despite its museum-like atmosphere. There are tapestries all down the hallway by the courtroom, and more paintings by Groesbeck and others, including the 12’ tall “Landing of Cabrillo”. On the staircase is a large painting of Dwight Murphy, (the prominent civic minded Santa Barbara businessman, not the prison warden from Twin Peaks) on a pretty palomino horse. On the floor is a gorgeous 8-point star mosaic, a tribute to the patron saint of this town, Saint Barbara.
Don’t miss out on going to the rooftop to see the city views from all four sides of the tower.
Everywhere we went on the tour, brides and grooms were all over the property. One of the most popular Southern California places to get married, they have weddings every single day of the year on the courthouse grounds.
In the afternoon, I went to the Santa Barbara Art Museum, and it’s a must-see. I absolutely loved it – so much diversity in style, so many different benefactors and truly amazing pieces and exhibitions. I particularly love the current exhibits of Math + Art as well as the Collage art pieces that are just so intricate and detailed. I highly recommend a visit.
After my day of enjoying Santa Barbara arts and culture, I walked over to Olio e Limone, an elegant Pan-Italian restaurant with a slight Sicilian focus, and had the veal saltimbocca with a lovely glass of champagne. After dinner, I turned in for the night.
Day 4- Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market and Another Over the Top Spa Experience at FLOAT
I started my day Saturday by heading to the farmer’s market, which happens six days a week at different locations, but is downtown on Saturday. Some of the produce stands have been around for 15-25 years, and they have a huge variety of local products.
After the market, I went back to the hotel for a walk on the beach and tried McConnell’s Ice Cream. You can’t visit Santa Barbara without a few classic beach walks.
To keep my day flowing, I went back to Float at the Hilton for a 90-minute Euphoria massage with Amy, this time with ALL the add-ons. The massage was as wonderful as I remembered, and the coconut scalp treatment made my hair silky soft for days.
For dinner, I went to Finney’s on State Street for a margarita pizza paired with a flight of margaritas. The restaurant has a definite sports bar atmosphere, very casual and high energy with a cool copper bar and brick walls.
Day 5- The MOXI and Santa Barbara Mission
My last day in sunny Santa Barbara, was definitely an interesting note to end on. I had a wonderful breakfast at Goat Tree Restaurant in the Californian Hotel. Having been to Morocco and taken pictures of real goats in trees, I couldn’t resist when I saw the sign.
I enjoyed an omelet and a “Hitchcock’s Hype”, which is a mimosa, because Alfred Hitchcock claims he invented the drink in the 1940’s. The entire drink menu is an ode to Old Hollywood, which is another fun part of Santa Barbara’s history – not only does Santa Barbara’s beautiful scenery feature heavily in many different movies, it was a major center for silent film production as well as getaway for Hollywood Stars like Charlie Chaplin back in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
After breakfast, I popped into MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, which is an interactive museum dedicated to science, technology and the arts. It is an awesome place to bring kids, with three floors of immersive educational activities, and special sections just for babies and toddlers.
In the afternoon, I checked out Third Window Brewing Company, the other recommendation I got from Bailey at Frequency Wines. Wow, I’m so glad I went – amazing Santa Barbara beef burgers, house made pretzels, and fantastic milkshakes. Absolutely a great recommendation.
My final stop in Santa Barbara was the Santa Barbara Mission, which definitely changed my perspective. I didn’t learn much about missions growing up in the South, so I had no idea about the dark history behind them. The mission and the grounds are beautiful to look at, overlooking the ocean, made of stone and seemingly quite peaceful. However, the mission was built as part of the Kingdom of Spain in conjunction with the Catholic Church’s plan to essentially convert and enslave the native Chumash tribe in order to colonize the region and farm it for Spain.
Ultimately, the mission project failed and the ownership was transferred away from Spain and the Catholic Church after Mexican Independence, though not before a horrific genocide was committed against the Native Americans. President Lincoln transferred the missions back to the Catholic Church in 1865, where it became a theological college and high school for some time. Now it is a museum, gift shop and Franciscan Friary. Again, very beautiful to look at, but disturbing to learn about.
And that was my trip to Santa Barbara! The breakfasts were great, the massages spectacular and I highly recommend a visit for a wonderful getaway on the west coast for fabulous food, wine and beaches.